Improvement in seal-locks for mail-bags



' UNITED STATES JE AN It. BOUBILLA,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF PARIS, FRANCE.

lMPROVElVIENT IN SEAL-LOCKS FOR MAIL-BAGS,

Spccilieation forming part of' Letters Patent No. 35,86, dated July 15, 1562.

T0 (MZ whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, JEAN REMY BOUBILLA, of Faris, in the Empire of France, employ, have invented a new and Improved Lock for Mail-Bags and other Packages; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact dcscripticnrof the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

` forming part of this specitication, in which- Figure l is a view of one side ofthe neck of a inail-bag having metallic eyes adapted for the application of one form of myinvention, showing the bag open and spread out. Fig. 2 is a top View of thesamebag having thelock applied and locked. Fig. 3 is a face View of the lock shown in Fig. 2, having the seal applied. Fig. 4 is a similar view representing it without the seal. Fig. 5 is alongitudinal section of the lock parallel with Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. Gis a transverse section of the same. Fig. 7 is a face View of a lock illustrating a modification of my invention.. Fig. 8 is a section of the same parallel with Fig. 7. Fig. 9 represents the cord which forms a part of the lock.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several gures.

This lock, which may be called the seallock, is composed of a block of brass or other metal constructed for the vreception of a cord and seal, and containing a gripper, as hereinafter described, whereby, when applied to a mail-bag or other package, to secure the same by means of the cord, the bag or package cannot be opened without either severing the cord or removing the seal, which, owing to the peculiar mode of its application within the block of metal, is protected against being accidentally broken.

The objects of the invention are to provide for the easy detection of any tampering with the bags or packages, to dispense with the use of a key, and to obtain a lock which is not liable to be easily deranged in any way, the detection of any tampering being eected by observing the condition of the cord and seal on the arrival of the bag or package at its destination, and the key being dispensed with by cutting the cord, and the lock being iit for use again after the removal of the cord and seal and the substitution of new ones.

To enable others to construct and apply my invention, I will proceed, iirst, to describel fully the lock represented in Figs. 2 to G, inclusive, and afterward to describe briefly some modifications. 4

A is the block of metal, having two passages, a b, for the reception of the cord B, the passage a extending right through it from end to end, and the passage b extending through one end kfrom a cavity, c, provided in the front side of the block for the reception of the seal, which is shown in Fig. 3 in red color. This cavityc has a groove, c', all round it, as shown in Fig. 6, to enable it to hold the wax. rIhe passage c contains the toothed gripper, the elastic teeth e c of which are so arranged as to allow the cord to be drawn through in the direct-ion of the arrow shown in Fig. 5, but not in the opposite direction.

For convenience of insertion in the passage a, the gripper-teeth c care attached to a tube, f, which is fitted into the said passage and secured therein by a screwed thimble, g. The passage a is intersected by a mortise, d, which is provided in the back side of the block for the reception of the iiattened and perforated end h, Fig. l, of a T-headed bolt, C, which has its head permanently attached by a short strap, z', to the neck of the bag D in such manner that the said bolt cannot be detached from the bag without cutting the said strap, the said bolt being intended to be inserted, in the manner shown in Fig. 2, through the metallic eyes jj, that are provided at equal distances apart all round the neck of the bag, the said eyes be ing all brought opposite to each other by folding the neck in the manner shown in Fig. 2.

rIhel cord B should be of a'somewhat soft character, and of a size to fit snugly into the passages a and I), and is knotted at one end, as shown at k, and thinned and tapered at the other, to bring itto a point, and the thinned,

tapered, and pointed portion is then made hard and stiff by the application of flour-paste, glue,

or other suitable material, to enable it to be inserted easily through the passages a b.

To apply the lock constructed as above described, the knotted and pointed cord has its point inserted through the passage b from the inside of the cavity c, and is drawn through the said passage till its knot is brought within the cavity, which is then filled up with wax and has the seal impression stamped upon it. The neck of the bag is then closed, with the 2 eases eyesjj all opposite each other and the bolt C inserted through the eyes. The block A is then placed on thc bolt with the iattened` end h of the latter in the mortise d, and the front of the cord is then inserted through the passage a and the hole h, provided for it in the bolt, and drawn through far enough to bring the soft full-sized portion of the cord into the toothed gripper. As the cord cannot then be drawn back through the gripper, it locks the block A on the bolt C, and so secures the neck of the bag in the closed condition shown in Fig. 1. To open the bag thus locked, the cord is cut as close as convenient to where it issues from the passage b and drawn ont through the passage a in the direction ofthe arrow shown in Fig. 5, thus liberating the bolt C and allowing the block to be removed from it, and so permitting the withdrawal of the bolt from the eyes of the bag. Before the block is used again the seal is all broken and picked out of the cavity c by the aid of a suitable instrument, and the knot is drawn out from the said cavity, followed by the portion o1" cord which filled the passage b; but the seal should not be broken until it has been ascertained that t-he contents of the bag are untouched. l

By the modification of my invention represented in Figs. 7 and S the bolt Ci's dispensed with and the bag is enabled to be locked either by running the cord through eyes providedin the neck of the bag or by placing the cord around the neck ofthe bag below apad which is sewed into and all around its upper edge to prevent it from being slipped over the mouth, the cord, after having been first inserted through the passage b and secured by the seal, being passed through the eyes of or around the neck of the bag and through the passage a and drawn tight upon or aroundthe bag. In this modification the mortise d is not necessary.

Many other modifications may be made in the lock. One of the most important is one by which it is made to serve as a padlock, the bow of the padlock being attached to one end or side of the block, and its end being iiattencd and perforated to enter a mortise in another part of the block for the purpose of being secured by the'passage through it of the cord in a manner similar to that' in which the latter passes through the perforated end of the bar G, or thc bow may be dispensed with and thc staple to which the padlock is commonly attached, after having the ordinary hasp placed over it, may be received directly into the niortise d and secured by the cord in the manner described with reference to the end of the boltG.

Among the advantages resulting from the use of this kind of lock, besides those enumerated at the commencement of the specilication, may be mentioned, rst, that the seal being prepared and ready for application before the closing up of the bag or package, much delay is avoided at the time of dispatching mails, when time is of great consequence; second, that the seal is so applied as to be perfectly protected against breakage by collision with any object.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Thc seal-lock composed of the block A, with its passages t and b, seal-cavity c, and gripper c e, substantially as herein specied.

' J. R. BOUBILLA.

Vitnesses:

A. GUroN, GEO. HUTTON. 

